Bill Simmons mentioned in his latest podcast. That Bob Iger has talked the NBA owners on what it would take for them to start playing again. They evidently wanted his input because of all the research they have done as company in regards to opening the parks.
I just got done listening to this (well, most of it, I haven't been listening to the "Rewatcha-Bulls" segments since I don't remember specific games from back then) and found that very interesting. Russillo seemed to think that WDW wouldn't be open and that would be a factor, but as others have noted, that's not likely to be the case. I also have to think that the ABC/ESPN angle would be another factor to involve Iger in some of these discussions, although that's probably normally below his pay grade some. Although ABC Sports/ESPN execs are not involved in any of the theme park reopening/logistics discussions and vice versa, so it still makes sense.
I can almost surely tell you guys this is a non-starter despite what some TV people might say.
The GS Warriors make almost $4 million in PROFIT EACH home game just from ticket, food, and merchandise sales. (And almost $12 million per playoff game, though they don’t have to worry about that for this season). The most in the NBA.
This is how salaries are partly paid for. Now, unless someone else was going to provide that same money with the same level of risk, I highly doubt the GSW ownership is willing to play elsewhere.
They are not going to be playing in front of fans anytime soon, as others have said. In fact, there is apparently belief that they will open NEXT season without fans in the arenas as well, especially if they start the season in October.
The playoffs are when the league really makes a lot of money - money that goes to all of the teams.
That $4 Million dollars per game is lost money, because there's no way GS or any NBA team will play the rest of the season in front of an arena full of people.
The owners can probably still turn a profit off of just the TV money, plus it's great exposure for the league (especially if there's no NHL or MLB).
There are 30 teams in the NBA. If 16 team owners vote to play, GS ownership will have no choice but to play.
There's also some talk that the bottom, already eliminated teams, might not play any more games since there could be pushback to bringing them in to play meaningless games. Although that would go against the notion that they would all come back to hit the 70 game mark so owners don't have to write checks to the regional sports networks.
True, they won’t be filling arenas any time soon. But, that’s the same for EVERY entertainment venue. Everyone will just have to compromise and accept the new normal faster so that they can get ahead that much sooner on the other side.
The losses will probably be spread out. Players will earn less, team owners will make less, broadcasters will make less, companies advertising will make less, cable companies will make less, team staff will make less, and the list goes on. This is regardless of what the government says it’s okay to do.
Businesses complaining about what they can or cannot do, and what they deserve, will be the only ones left behind. Adapting is the best and only strategy.
The players will already start having their pay cut by 25% starting in May. May 1 will be their last regular pay check.
Im 99.9% certain the NBA and the players union already have an agreement in place on compensation if no games are played the rest of the year. So players salaries really aren't an issue here.
One situation I see as a possibility are one half of the league playing in Las Vegas, which is shut down but hosts the NBA Summer League annually, and the other half playing at WDW Wide World. Perhaps playoff series' are played at one site with the 16 teams that will have qualified in order to determine some sort of champion for the year, and the other 14 teams play some sort of shortened schedule or tournament at the other site. That would allow more room for players and teams to quarantine players and staffs, if needed.
But a possible June opening at WDW makes this situation kinda hard. The NBA playoffs are a 6+ week affair.
There are certainly going to have to be warm-up games as well (see below).
They need to get to 70 games to get all the tv money from the RSNs. I think everyone is currently between 63 to 67 games played.
https://basketball.realgm.com/wiret...At-Least-70-Games-To-Deliver-On-RSN-Contracts
I think this is really important. The owners are certainly going to want to avoid having to pay money back to the regional networks. The regional networks are also much less likely to be able to absorb the hit of no games that ABC/ESPN/TNT can. Also, those regional networks don't televise playoff games like the big networks do, so it's not like they gain a benefit of the league returning for the playoffs (playoffs are the important part for ESPN/TNT anyway).
Plus, the players are likely to make it clear, and it's pretty obvious, that they would not be ready to start the playoffs right away. They're going to need to have warm-up games to get back into the flow of things and get back into shape. This is not like the beginning of preseason in which they have been working out all summer, etc., and just need to get into real game shape. A lot of these guys have not been able to do any kind of real working out or exercising (a lot have apartments, live in cities, etc.), and they're not in gyms (exercise or basketball). There are reports of a lot of players not having taken a shot or even bounced a ball since games were stopped.